Waste Reduction and Recycling “Quiz Show” Questions The quiz show can be used at a school assembly, in a school lunchroom or in a classroom. The correct answers are in bold. · Invite students to select a number between one and 24. Each student should select a different number, so that no question will be asked more than once. · If desired, write each number on a small slip of paper and place the numbers in a hat or other container – and then ask each student to pick out one piece of paper. Place the selected piece of paper outside the hat or container so that it’s not selected again. · If a student selects “4” then ask the student question #4 below; if a student selects “10” then ask the student question #10 below, etc. Help contestants answer the questions if they don’t know the answers. · If possible, use a microphone so that everyone can hear the questions and answers. · Incentives or prizes: Consider giving each student contestant a pencil, a healthy snack, an extra 10 minutes of recess or another “prize” -- even if the student does not select the correct answer. The idea is to have fun and create interest in the questions and answers. QUESTIONS 1. How many pounds of food and food-soiled paper does the average King County household throw away each week? a. 5 b. 9 c.15 2. Which of the following can NOT be placed in a school composting container or in your yard waste cart at home? a. Apple core b. Milk carton c. Pizza delivery box d. Paper napkins 3. True or False? You can recycle meat, bones and dairy scraps in your yard waste cart and in a school composting bin. TRUE 4. True or False? If I place my food scraps in a paper sack, I can throw the sack into the composting bin along with the food scraps. TRUE 5. What happens to food that is put into yard waste carts or into a school composting container? a. The food scraps go to a special food-only landfill b. The food scraps are made into new food c. It’s turned into compost that can be used to nourish our gardens 6. When recycling a plastic water bottle, what should you do with the cap? a. The cap goes into a garbage can and the bottle goes in a recycling bin b. Screw the cap back on the bottle, then put the bottle and cap in a recycling bin c. Recycle the cap separately. 7. YES OR NO. Can you recycle Styrofoam trays and plastic utensils? NO 8. YES OR NO. Can you recycle a steel can, a glass bottle or a plastic bottle with the label on? YES 9. Name one product that paper is recycled into after it goes in a recycling bin. Any of the following answers is correct: Cardboard, more paper, paper towels, napkins, magazines, shirt boxes, paper bags, egg cartons, almost any paper item 10. What are the two largest components of a typical school’s garbage? (Answer: Paper and Food Scraps) a. Bottle caps b. Paper c. Food Scraps d. Apple cores 11. TRUE OR FALSE – It’s better for the environment to use a durable, washable, refillable water bottle than it is to buy water bottles, drink the water and recycle the empty plastic bottle. TRUE 12. Yes or No. Do staples have to be removed before recycling paper? NO 13. How do you determine if a plastic container is recyclable? (Hint: this is a common misconception.) a. Look at the number on the bottom b. Look at the shape - only bottles, jugs and round dairy tubs are recyclable c. Look at the color of the plastic 14. If you bring a lunch from home, how can you pack a “Waste Free lunch”? Tell us one way that you would prepare a waste free lunch box. Any of the following responses are correct: - Pack food in durable, reusable containers. - Bring a drink in a durable, reusable container. - Pack the lunch in a durable, reusable box or bag. - Only bring what I will eat or drink. - Take leftovers home for a snack. (Note: After a student provides one correct answer, ask the group for other waste free lunch ideas.) 15. Tell us about one way that you can reduce paper use at school or at home. Any of the following responses are correct: - Use the back sides of each piece of paper - Double-sided photocopying or printing - Use each page in our notebooks - Use a white board instead of paper - Communicate by e-mail instead of by using paper - Save e-mails, homework and reports on the computer instead of printing them out and filing them - Reuse file folders and envelopes - If you no longer want to receive a newspaper or magazine, cancel the subscription (or ask to have names/mailing addresses removed from distribution lists) (Note: After a student provides one correct answer, ask the group for other paper waste reduction ideas.) 16. True or False. More than half of the garbage that ends up in the Cedar Hills landfill could have been recycled. TRUE 17. Where does your garbage go when the waste hauler collects it? a. It goes to the ocean, where it’s dumped into the ocean. b. It goes to a garbage transfer station, then to the Cedar Hills Regional Landfill c. It goes to San Juan Island to be buried. 18. Yes or No. Can you place magazines and glossy advertising or junk mail in the recycling bin? YES 19. Which ONE of the following items DOES belong in the blue recycling container? a. Food scraps such as a banana peel b. A plastic bottle c. A straw d. A bottle cap 20. What of the following can you put in your yard waste/food scrap bin? a. Banana peel b. Meat scraps and bones c. Moldy cheese d. Potato peelings e. All of the above 21. Yes or No. Can you place broken window glass and unwanted ceramic dishes in the recycling bin? NO 22. Which of the following food-soiled papers should you not put in the food scrap composting or yard waste bin? a. Paper towels b. Paper napkins c. Greasy cardboard pizza delivery boxes d. Plastic cups, utensils and plates 23. Which of the following items belong in the garbage container? a. A Ziploc baggy b. A bottle cap c. A straw d. All of the above 24. Which of the following papers is OK to put in the recycling bin? a. Newspaper b. Notebook paper c. Colored paper d. Glossy advertising paper or junk mail e. Cardboard f. Milk cartons that have no liquid left in them f. Notebook paper g. All of the above March 2011 .